Folding container for bottles



Aug? 1934- E. H. LUPTON FOLDING CONTAINER FOR BOTTLES- 4 Sheets-sheaf 1Filed May 29, 1933 IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEY 28, 1934. LUPTON I 1,971,863

FOLDING CONTAINER FOR BOTTLES Filed May 29. 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IfiqgINVEIT/TORT BY, a 2

ATTORNEY 1934- E. H. LUPTON FOLDING CONTAINER FOR BOTTLES Filed May 29,1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 5N VEN T OR ATTORNEY Aug.'28, 1934. E. H. LUPTONFOLDING CONTAINER FOR BOTTLES Filed May 29 1953 I: ET-3 5 4 Sheets-Sheet4 f d INVENTOR.

2 {JV M AITORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1934 NT OFFICE Elmer H; Lupton,llchester, Md.

Application May 29, 1933, Serial No. 873,537

7 Claims. (Cl. 229-15) This invention relates to folding containers,made of paper board or the like, for containing bottles such as are usedfor holding beer and soft drinks. The purpose of the invention is to I iprovide containers complete with individual cells for the bottles, thecells as well as the body of the container adapted to fold flat and tobe easily set up.

In carrying out the invention, I provide a container having side wallsand a collapsible bottom wall, connecting these side walls, and betweenthe side walls are arranged closely adjacent rows of cells, each cellrectangular in cross-section, the cells in each row being fastenedtogether as a unit and the end cells in two or more of the rows beingsecured to said sidew alls. The number) of cells in a row may be two,for a small container, or a multiple of two for a larger container. Thecells are creased at their corners so that the successive cells in a rowwill fold alternately in opposite directions and lie flat between thesides when the container is folded. For containers adapted to hold adozen bottles, three rows of cells, having foufcells to the row,

26 makes a package of convenient shape, and be-- cause of the weight ofthe bottles certain portions of the container are re-enforced bysuitable light material, such as corrugated board. For containers ofsmaller size the re-enrorcing elements may be omitted. In some forms ofcontainer the cells are enclosed on four sides, but in the smaller andcheaper forms, the cells may be enclosed only by the sides of thecontainer body to which they are attached, the cells in the end rowsforming the other two sides of the container.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the invention in severalforms, each form embodying the ieature above mentioned, namely, thearrangement of Ioldable cells in rows of two or a multiple of two, thecells in each row being connected together and the end cells in at leasttwo of the rows being connected to opposite sides of a collapsiblecontainer body.

In the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the inner side of the blank for a boxcontaining cells connected in units of four;

Fig. 2 is.a similar view of the blank with its re-enforcements appliedthereto;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the box, folded;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the box at the commencement of theunfolding operation;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the box at a later stage in the unfoldingoperation;

Fig. 7 is a similar view 01. the box withthe bottom and sides completelyunfolded;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the box in upright position with the coverflaps turned outwardly,

showing the tops of the cells; 1 to Fig. 9 is a similar view, showingthe box with the top flaps closed; 7 Fig. 10 is a perspective view of acell unit consisting of four cells;

Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 8; es 1 Fig. 12 is asection on the line 12-12 of Fig. 9: Fig. 13 is a section on the line13-13 of Fig. 9; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a box having cells inunits of two, the box being unfolded, with the top flaps open; Fig. 15is a plan view of the blank from whic the box shown in Fig. 14 isconstructed;

Fig. 18-is a plan view of the box shown in Fig. 14, folded;

Fig. 17 is a horizontal section through the box on the line 17-17 of.Fig. 16, showing the box partly folded;

Fig. 18 is a perspective view 0! a modified form of box or container;

Fig. 19 view of the same; Fig. 20 is a perspective view of the same,partly folded, and, I

Fig. 21 is a plan view of the blank which forms the body of thecontainer, illustrated in Figs. 1s-2o;

Referring first to Figs. 1-13, inclusive, of the drawings, whichillustrate the construction of a box having twelve cells. Fig; 1 showsthe in-' ner side 01' the box blank, which is divided into four panelsa, b, cand d, by transverse slots 1, 9o 2 and 3 in one side margin ofthe blank, correspondingslots 4, 5, and 6 in the opposite margin of 'theblank and crease lines 'I, 8, and 9 extending transversely of the blankbetweenthe slots 1-4, 2-5, and 3-8,-respectively. These panels haveflaps at their ends formed by crease lines line 16. The panels a and 'c,which fonn opposite sides of the box; have upper. flaps 1'! and 18,respectively, which fold over;the top of the;

box, and lower flaps '19 and 20, respectively, which fold within thebottom of the box, and-the panel a has a tab 21 at its free edge which,in the panel d. A crease line 22 extends transversely of the blankthrough the center of the panel a and its flaps, and, similarly, acrease line 23 extends through the panel 0 and its flaps, whereby thesepanels and their flaps may fold at their centers along these lines. Theflap 19 has a diagonal crease line 24 to permit the two parts of theflap to fold at a right angle, and the flap 20 has a similar diagonalcrease line 25 to permit its parts to fold at a right angle.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the panels which form the sides of the boxare re-enforced by suitable light-weight material,- such as corrugatedpaper board, and the end flaps of the panels b and d are similarlyre-enforced. These re-enforcing elements, which are of rectangularshape, are cemented directly to the blank.

The, panel a, which is foldable along the crease line 22, has twore-enforcing elements 26 and 27 cemented to its inner face, theseelements being arranged at opposite sides of said line and spaced apartso as not to interfere at their adjacent edges when the panel is folded,and reenforcing elements 28 and 29 are similarly ar ranged on thefoldable side panel 0.

A reenforcing element 30 is applied to the panel 5, and re-enforcingelements 31 and 32 are applied to its top flap l2 and its bottom flap14. Similarly, the panel d has a re-enforcing element 33 and its top andbottom flaps 13 and 15 are provided with re-enforcing elements 34 and35, respectively. All of these elements lie within the boundaries of theparts to which they are applied, except the elements 32 and 35,'whichextend beyond the sides of the bottom flaps l4 and 15, respectively, inorder to overlap the adjacent edges of the flaps 19 and 20 in thecompleted box, for the purpose hereinafter described.

Within the walls of the box are arranged three rows of cells, indicatedby the letters e, f and g, each row, as shown, consisting of four cellswhich are square in cross-section when the box is set up, as in Fig. 8,but which fold in zigzag fashion,

relatively to one another as indicated in Fig.

11, and lie fiat between the sides b and d when the box is collapsed.Each cell is complete in itself and the cells in each row are cementedtogether to form a unit, asillustrated in Fig. 10. The end cells of theouter rows e and g are cemented to the re-enforcements 30 and 33 on thesides b and d of the box, respectively, and the end cells of the centerrow f may also be cemented to these re-enforcements although the centerrow of cells will fold with the outer rows, without being attached tothe re-enforcements. The cells are the full height of the reenforcementsand are open at the topand bottom and each cell is adapted to receive abottle h with a free fit. The cells are given a set at their corners sothat each cell in each row tion, as illustrated in Fig. 11.

The manner of setting up the box, illustrated in Figs. 1-13, is asfollows: When the box is folded it appears as in Figs. 4 and 5, thecells being folded flat within the box. To set up the box, the operatorgrasps it by the sides a and c and presses the foldededges 22 and 23 ofthese parts toward one another. The sides b andd are spaced apart ashort distance by the intervening flattened cells, and as the sides aand c are pressed toward one another, as illustrated in Fig. 6, they actas toggle result.

1,971,883 finished box, is cemented to the free edge of the levers tocausethe sides 5 and to be forced apart, and the bottom flaps 14 and 1are drawn, by this movement of the sides b and d, toward a. position atright angles to the sides, and, eventually,-when the sides a and c areat right angles to the sides b and d, the bottom flaps 14 and 15 will beat right angles to the sides and will close the lower end of the box andthe lower ends of the cells. The rows of cells will alsobe straightenedout as the sides b and d, to which they are attached, move apart,and-the sides a and c will fit flat against the outer rows of cells aand e, as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 13.

It is to be noted that in setting up the box the ends of there-enforcements 32 and 350a the bottom flaps 14 and 15 of the sides band d, which overlap the ends of the flaps 19 and 20 on the sides a and0, respectively, cause the latter flaps to be folded inwardly, asillustrated in Fig. 6, while the flaps 14 and 15 are being drawn intothe position shown in Fig. '7. These flaps 19 and 20 then lie flatagainst the re-enforcements of the bottom parts 14 and 15. The purposeof extending the re-enforcement on the bottom flaps 14 and 15 over theends of the flaps l9 and 20 is to cause this In order to permit theflaps l9 and 20 to be folded inwardly at right angles to the sides a and0 while the latter are buckled and being pressed toward their flat setup positions, it is necessary to provide the 45 creases 24 and 25 in theparts 19 and 20. Generally, the operator will aid the inward folding ofthe flaps 19 and 20 by pressing them inwardly at the center with histhumbs while pressing the sides a and 0 into their flattened positions.

When the box is set up, if the flaps l7 and 18 are turned outwardly, asshown in Fig. 8, or inwardly over the cells, the sides a and c to whichthey are attached cannot buckle, and since these sides space the sides band it apart, the rows of cells attached to the latter sides will. beheld in straight lines, with the individual cells squared to receive thebottles. The bottles are adapted to fit closely within the squaredcells, and, since a bottle cannot be inserted into a cell until thecells are squared, it follows that a single bottle inserted into anycell will prevent that ceIL-and all of the other cells, from folding,and the box will remain set up even through the flaps l7 and 18 beturned upwardly in the planes of the sides a and c. To start filling thebox, the flaps will be turned outwardly as in Fig. 8, and when the boxhas been filled, the flaps 17' and 18 will be turned inwardly over thecells and the re-enforced flaps 12 and 13 will be turned inwardly overthe flaps l7 and 18, as shown in Figs. 9 and 12. The cover flaps maythen be secured in any suitable way as by a sealing tape, or by a cordpassed around the package.

If it is desired to restore the box to its flattened shape, when empty,the cover flaps will be opened and when the flaps 17 and 18 are turnedupwardly into the planes of the sides a. and 0, these sides may bepulled outward slightly, and then pressure applied to the sides b and 11will cause the cells to collapse and the sides and bottom parts toflatten as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In Fig. 14 is shown a box containing three rows of cells, with two cellsin a row, the cells in the each row havetheir adjacent sides cementedtogether and theopposite sides of the cells are cemented to the sidewalls I) and d of. the box, respectively. It is not essential that thecells f'-f', constituting the center row, be cemented to the sides ofthe box, as they will fold and unfold by the pressure of the cells inthe end rows' with which they are in contact. In the form of box firstdescribed, with four cells in each row, the sides a and c necessarilyfold outwardly; but in the box shown in Figs. 14 to 1'1, where there areonly two cells in a row, the wall a. is creased to fold outwardly andenclose theprojecting sides of the cells 9, while the walls 0' iscreased so as to fold inwardly between the cells'e', as will be clearfrom an inspection of Figs. 16 and 17, which show the box in folded andpartly folded positions.

The box is set up by pressing the wall a inwardly, thereby causing thecells to straighten and force the other side walls outwardly until thewalls and cells are squared, as shown in Fig. 14. As the walls b and dmove away from one another, they straighten out the bottom portions 14"and 15 as in the previously described box. If the top flaps 17' and 18are turned inwardly or outwardly the box will retain its shape whenempty, and of coursewhen bottles are placed in the squared cells, thebox will make a compact package which will retain its shape regardlessof the positions of the top flaps. When the 'bottles are removed, thebox can be collapsed by turning the flaps 1'7 and 18' on the sides a andc upwardly, and then pressing the sides b and d toward one another.

In Figs. 18 to 21, inclusive I have shown an inexpensive form ofcontainer with cells for holding six bottles. In this form the containerfor the cells consists of a single strip of. cardboard having parallelsides and transversely creased, as indicated at 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. Thepanels 1) and d of the strip form sides of thecontainer to which thecells are cemented; the panels 1 and k form the folding bottom of thecontainer and the panel m forms the top of the container. The top panelhas side flaps 41 formed by iongitudinal crease lines 42 and it has anend flap 43 formed by the transverse'crease line 40. The side flaps haveextensions '44 formed by the crease line 40 and longitudinal slots 45which are in line with the crease lines 42. In the completed containerthe side flaps are turned at a right angle to the top panel, theextensions 44 are ,turned inwardly toward one another, and the end flap43 is cemented to these extensions, as shown in Figs. 18-20. The sideflaps 41 gradually widen from the crease line 39 to the line 40, wherethey meet the end flap 43 which is made relatively wide so that when thecover is closed, as in Fig. 19, the side flaps will extend downwardlyfor a substantial distance over the ends of the cells and will preventthem .from collapsing when the container is empty. The side flaps havediagonal creases 46 but these are merely to permit the side flaps tofold inwardly over the body of the cover and the end fiap'to fold overthe side flaps when the container is folded.

In this container the end rows of cells e and g are not enclosed at theends of the container, the cells themselves forming the ends. As shownin Fig. 20 the cells and the bottom portions 1i and k fold by pressingthe sides I) and d toward one another and they unfold by pressing thecells e inwardly to their squared positions. The flaps on the cover foldinwardly against the body of the cover and the latter folds backwardlyagainst the side b of the container.-

What I claim is: I 1. A folding container for bottles comprising anouter casing having opposed non-folding sides, a downwardlyfoldingbottom connecting said sides, and opposed sides, not connected at theirlower edges to the bottom, adapted to fold along one another and creasedto fold in zigzag manner, and some of the rows having their endsconnected to said non-folding sides.

2. A folding container for bottles comprising an outer casing havingopposed non-folding sides,

a downwardly folding bottom connecting said sides, and opposed sides,not connected at their lower edges to the bottom, adapted to fold alongvertical central lines, and collapsible cells,-rectangular incross-section when unfolded,connected together in rows between saidnon-folding sides, each row having an even number of cells, the rowsbeing closely adjacent one another, and some of the rows having theirends connected to said non-folding sides. 3. In a folding container, acasing composed of a paper board blank having opposed non-folding sidepanels with bottom flaps connecting said panels and folding downwardlyand opposed folding side panels having bottom flaps, said latter panelsadapted to fold along central vertical lines and their bottom flapsadapted to fold inwardly, and re-eni'orcing elements covering the innersides of the lower flaps of the non-folding panels and projectinglaterally therefrom over the adjacent edges of the lower flaps of thefolding panels when the container is folded.

4. In a folding container forbottles, a casing composed of a paper boardblank having opposed non-folding side panels with bottom flapsconnecting said panels and folding downwardly and' opposed folding sidepanels having bottom flaps, said latter panels adaptedto fold alongcentral vertical lines and their bottom flaps adapted to fold inwardly,re-enforcing elements covering the inner sides of the lower flaps of thenon-folding panels and projecting laterally therefrom over theadjacent'edges of the lower flaps of the folding panels when thecontainer is folded,'and

collapsible cells connected together in rows, the

end cells in some of the rows being attached to said non-folding sidepanels.

5. In a folding container for bottles, a casing composed of a paperboard blank having opposed non-folding side panels with bottom flapsconnecting said panels and folding downwardly, opposed folding sidepanels having bottom flaps, said latter panels adapted to fold alongcentral vertical lines and their bottom flaps adapted to fold inwardly,re-enforcing'layers of corrugated board applied to the inner sides ofsaid panels and to the bottom flaps of the non-folding panels, there-enforcing layers on the latter flaps projecting over the adjacentends of the flaps on the folding panels when the container is folded,and collapsible cells connected together in rows, the end cells in someof the rows being attached to said non-folding side panels.

6. A folding container for bottles comprising an outer casing havingopposed sides and a col-- unfolded, connected together in outer andintermediate rows between said sides, each cell being complete in itselfand each row having an even number of cells, the rows being closelyadjacent one another, the cells in the several rows adapted to fold inzigzag manner relatively to one another and the outer rows in the groupof rows having their ends connected to said opposed sides of the casing.

'7. A folding container for bottles comprising an outer casing havingopposed sides and a collapsible bottom connecting said sides, and cal-

